Serving with the 1st Battallion, Staffordshire Regiment, Jamaica-born Mark saw action in the likes of Kosovo and Afghanistan, only to be medically discharged after being shot in a firefight in Iraq.

Then, after settling in Redcar with partner Vanessa Robinson, he started work as a production operator at the SSI steelworks - only to be one of the 2,200 people who lost their jobs when the plant closed in 2015.

But a year ago, Mark turned another of his great loves, Jamaican cooking, into a business - and it’s proving third time lucky.

Helped by funding from the SSI Task Force, he opened authentic Caribbean restaurant and takeaway Irie Jerk (“Irie” means good in Jamaican English) at Parliament Road in Middlesbrough.

And with the shop celebrating its first anniversary next month, things are going so well he’s enrolled some help in the kitchen - his “brother from the army”, former Staffordshire Regiment colleague Barrington Dillon.

Mark at the restaurant (Image: Katie Lunn)

The restaurant serves home-made Jamaican food that Mark, 38, cooks himself. He said: “I’m originally from Kingston, where the cooking skills and recipes are handed down by generations. I was very close to my grandmother, who taught me how to do it.

“At Irie Jerk, I want to give people an experience. We have just changed the menu and spiced it up a bit, but it isn’t overly spicy. There’s something for everyone to try.”

After moving to the UK from Jamaica when he was 21, Mark was studying computer engineering in Birmingham when he saw an Army Careers Office, went in out of interest and before long was training at Catterick ahead of a six year military career, ending up as a Lance Corporal.

But returning from a routine patrol in Al Alamara, Mark’s party was ambushed - “we lost three guys that same day” - he was shot in his left leg and he had to be discharged on medical grounds.

Mark in Iraq

He said: “The Staffs were like family to me. It was a hard thing to leave - the bond you share in the army is deep - but I had no choice.”

His SSI job seemed a godsend - only for the plug to be pulled.

He said: “After SSI, I was really fed up. I had already lost what I thought would be two life-long careers and thought to myself ‘why even bother getting a job if I’m just going to lose it again?’ That’s why I decided to set up my own business, so I could do something for myself.”

Mark, a dad to sons Jaiden and Julian, heard about the Task Force through friends who had gone into decorating. It helped him not only with financial support, but with his business plan, the lease, and all the receipts.

“For me, cooking is definitely the easy part,” laughed Mark. “I’m passionate and proud of my culture, so it gives me a buzz when people try Jamaican and Caribbean food for the first time and tell me they enjoy it.

“It’s been a tough first year at times but I’m getting there. I’ve got more and more people coming in, praising the food. There’s definitely a market out there.”

Jerk chicken (Image: Katie Lunn)

And with best sellers including curry goat, jerk chicken and ackee with salt fish, Mark says people love his food’s flavours and authenticity - emphasised by the shop’s slogan “Caribbean by Caribbean”.

SSI Task Force chair Amanda Skelton said: “Mark clearly has a passion for cooking and I’m pleased the Task Force has been able to help him into a new career after SSI closed.

“So far we’ve helped over 260 new businesses start up, and money is still available to help people interested in doing something new.”